


In Two (#1 Crux)

by chromakei



Series: FFXIVWrite2020 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26242657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromakei/pseuds/chromakei
Summary: Questions always come in two.
Relationships: Au Ra Characters (Final Fantasy XIV)/Original Character(s)
Series: FFXIVWrite2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906291
Collections: Final Fantasy Write Prompt Challenge 2020





	In Two (#1 Crux)

**Author's Note:**

> #CONTENT WARNING FOR: mentions of abuse, implications of torture, lightly graphic blood descriptions.#

Tiny hands riddled with dried blood scrubbed hard at reddened skin, the red quality of the water rushing down the sink staining the pristine white ceramic as a cloud of steam rose to cloud the ornate mirror standing in front of the tiny figure so keen on cleaning herself off from whichever had landed against her. Quickened huffs left her lips as shivers rolled down her curved spine and the goosebumps on her scale riddled skin became more and more pronounced with each heavy step that filled the corridor. The ever so slow and familiar thump of boots was softened only by the carpet but, in her mind, it echoed louder than the water springing out of the faucet.

 **How** did it come to this exactly? _Thump, thump_. She asked herself the question every waking hour of the nightmare that her life had become a few days since her last failure. _Thump, thump_. **Could** she have escaped such fate if only she had been stronger? _Thump, thump_. But then again, naivety came with her age and - since such blessings always came in two - with naivety came being reckless and headstrong. _Knock, knock_. Not that she had any place to run to, any family to go back to, any friends to hide with. Just her stuffed animals and her Namazus. _Knock, knock_. She was content with the latter not having been slaughtered, at least. _Clack, clack_. A deaf clinking of the door handle and the turning of a key interrupted her train of thoughts: her arms bore deep scars, reddened imprints where her claws had sunk too harshly to wash way the stains of her failed attempts to impress him, the same figure that loomed above her, da displeased down-turned grin on his features that spoke highly of what could have happened from then and a few minutes after.

It did not take too long, only two hours between being moved to the basement and then back to her bedroom, but it felt like infinity had slowly seeped into the building and every second dragged on for one more, every minute felt like two and every hour felt like a day had just come and gone; with heavy thoughts, the Minnow waited to feel her limbs once more, to feel the tip of her fingertips and the aching pain in her arms, to feel the muscles of her calves painfully stretch and for her spine to straighten beneath torn skin hastily mended with gauze. A whimper of pain left her small lips as a sharp feeling knocked the wind out of her lungs and her body slumped over to one side once more, fingertips rushing to feel the trickle of warm liquid and the familiar scent of blood fill her nostrils as they ran against her bony knees. ‘ **Was that all?** ’ was the forlorn thought in her mind as the softness of bed sheets finally realized beneath her trembling body.

“You are awake… finally,” a soft sigh left the lips of the masculine voice that stood sitting in the corner of the room, the figure carefully poised between two piles of plushies that she had so painstakingly accrued in all of her time beneath his command, “I know you failed but escaping as soon as your ship is docked? Minnow…” the soft creak of the couch made the tiny Au Ra jump in place, her long tail twitching as it stood limping on the side of the bed, “ **Do** you believe me to be that mean?” the horned, tall man sat down on the edge of her soft bed, sinking it with his weight and causing her body to roll lightly forward towards him. “ **Who** took you in when you had nowhere to go?” his hand gently reached for her chin, pinching the round edge with two long fingers as his fangs gleaned from beneath his lips, now curled in a soft smile, “y—you, sir,” came the meek reply in broken Common. “ **Who** gave you everything you had dreamed for? A ship, a place to call home… a purpose?” his touch froze her in place, body shook by small twitches and whimpers as the pain that permeated her limbs simply made it all the more difficult to crawl away, “y—you, sir,” it always came in two, always two questions that made her heat wrench. The soft touch of his warm lips, sharp shark teeth grazing grazing skin as a touch of kindness instilled newfound sadness in her.

 **Why** couldn’t she be good at her only job?

 **Why** couldn’t she find that damn shipment? It hadn’t even been sunk a night ago.

 **Why** couldn’t she be more grateful to him and succeed at least once?

“Then **why** do you run away from me so?”

 **Why** was she so scared of him when he was her world?

* * *

**#1 Crux** \- an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome.

This work is also available on [Google Drive](https://owo.vc/%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D%E2%80%8D).


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